A Zebra in the Room of Requirement
by NellyNells123
Summary: Zebra's aren't supposed to live in the Room of Requirement, which I found out in my 7th year at Hogwarts. Join me, Eliza Longbottom, as I go through a year of TriWizard Tournaments, befriending complete weirdos, and teaching a zebra how to dance...


**_A/N Hello, this is my first fanfic, and thanks to my sister, Goldemort, for helping me! Please review (I am the best elephant in the world) XD_**

"SHUT UP RALPH!" Oh... Hello... Don't mind me, I m just trying to lock my zebra in the room of requirement: nothing suspicious, of course. I'm not too sure how I managed to make Dad let me bring Ralph to Hogwarts; not too sure he knows about it either... 

Anyway, I'm Eliza. Eliza Longbottom. Professor Longbottom's daughter in fact. Yeah, I'm that awesome. 

"Eliza? Where are you?" Dad's voice rang out clearly in the huge corridor. I carefully closed the door of the room of requirement and innocently looked around. "ELIZA! Oh There you are. What have you been doing?"

"Umm Well I was just-"

"Never mind," Dad interrupted me. "If you're not quick you'll miss the feast, and that will be a huge shame because tonight s feast is a very special feast indeed. Go on then, people are already waiting for the first years." Then he strode away out of sight.

I sprinted the other way, careful not to be seen by Filch and Mrs Norris, who was (taking me by surprise) singing 'Over the Rainbow' in loud operatic tone. I held back my laughter as I took a shortcut down to the second floor, where I begged that the staircase would change and take me down to the ground floor. Magically (I'm so magic), it did and I sprinted through a gap in the marble wall and into the corridor leading to the great hall.

"Lucy!" I whispered anxiously to my best friend: Lucy Weasley. "How late am I?"

"Don t worry it s only just started. What took you so long?" she looked back at me and replied as I climbed on the bench next to her.

"Phew, I ll tell you later."

"Welcome, everyone, to our start of term feast, we have many new first years to sort so let us begin." Professor McGonagall introduced while Lucy waved to her sister over at the Ravenclaw table. The sorting began and, when my dad smiled at me from the teachers table, I muttered to Lucy: I" wish I could go on the Hogwarts express and get here on the first day like everyone else instead of having a dad that's Professor of Herbology and makes me come early with him."

"Oh don't worry; you're not missing much, just sitting in a compartment on a noisy old train with Erica Goldin and an annoying old lady coming to ask if we want any sweets every 5 minutes. All you can see if grass, sheep and cows, grass, sheep and cows, grass, sheep and cows You re not missing out on much. Trust me," Lucy answered.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat shouted and whooping, cheering and clapping followed from the Hufflepuff table.

"Use an indoor voice would you?" Erica muttered grumpily opposite us. Me and Lucy laughed as the next first year went up to the Sorting Hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat cried out again. 

* * *

><p>Once the Sorting had finished, and all the first years were chattering excitedly to their new house prefects, McGonagall asked for quiet and started speaking:<p>

"Now this year, is a very special year indeed, Hogwarts is proud to say we are taking part in, and hosting, the Triwizard Tournament!"

Me, Lucy and Erica all stared at each other in shock. Gasps and murmurs rippled through the hall as McGonagall continued, "We are delighted to announce that students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be joining us later on in the term, so please be on your best behaviour."

"THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT! Now this is exciting. I wish we could enter," Lucy moaned as we made our way to the Hufflepuff common room. Big crowds were going in all directions in the vast corridor and one random Slytherin strode past us and shouldered Erica hard, making her nearly topple over.

"Oi!" Erica shouted at him, but he didn t seem to hear (and even if he did he pretended not to notice). She shook her head slowly at him then stared at Lucy hard, "Seriously Lucy, how dumb can you get? We can enter you dingbat, we are 17 you know!"

"Oh _yeah_! I remember now. Thanks Erica," she replied. I rolled my eyes and turned a corner into the Hufflepuff common room. I flopped into an armchair while Erica and Lucy sat down on a sofa opposite.

"You know, on my way to the Hall I passed Filch, he was singing 'Over the Rainbow' as loud as he possibly could: it was hilarious!"

"Ha, oh he's a weird person, with a really freaky cat; I don t like Mrs Norris... Yeah so what were you doing before the feast?" Lucy asked me.

"Oh, I was just trying to lock Ralph in the room of requirement."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Eliza, how on earth did you get you dad to let you lock a zebra in the room of requirement?" When I didn t answer after a few seconds she asked: "He does know about it doesn t he?"

"Well I'm not too sure about that..." I replied.

"Oh ELIZA! You are such an _idiot_! Seriously, you are the weirdest and most stupid person I have met in my entire life! So... Do you need any help with Ralph?" Lucy said disbelievingly.

"Oh no thanks, he'll be fine. For now anyway..."


End file.
